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Magnuson given late notice to pay rent or start eviction process

We have an update on the Magnuson Hotel's efforts to kick out nearly 100 homeless people so it can renovate the building.

With a judge delaying the closing of the Magnuson Hotel tenants thought they had some time to figure out what to do.

"Right now, I don't really have no resources. I don't really have family friends," said Barry Tipton, Magnuson tenant.

Tipton recently moved to Michigan from Ohio and has been living at the hotel.

"I only lived here 5 months. You know, I didn't grow up in Lansing," Tipton said.

He's been closely following the case with the city so when he saw a sign posted in the hotel Wednesday about paying rent that evening or "commencement of the eviction process" would start he said he wouldn't pay.

"No, they have to take me to court until I get something from the judge stating business as usual," Tipton said.

Things haven't business as usual for Dr. Joan Jackson Johnson, director for the Human Relations and Community Services.. She tells me she's been fielding calls from tenants about that sign for most of the day.

"They wanted to know if that was legal and could they put them out and their interpretation was not that they would file for eviction," Dr. Johnson. "They thought they were going to put them out today."

She assured them it wouldn't happen.

Johnson says the hotel didn't ask for the rent at the beginning of the month she believes the owners expected everyone to be out by now.

But after the court hearing the judge said people living in the hotel had time.

"Things would remain the same until the next hearing with special emphasis on no one is asking the Magnuson administrators to give free rent," said Dr. Johnson.

She says they should have given notice sooner.

"You want everybody to move out your hotel," Tipton said. "Why would you want somebody to pay some money."